I’ve hit every milestone I was supposed to hit.

I got the degrees.

I earned tenure.

I published the research.

I’m raising a family.

I even built a platform to help other researchers.

And still—most days, I feel like I’m failing.

Not because I’ve failed.

But because perfection culture has trained people like us to believe we’re never enough.

In academia, in parenting, in life—we are constantly being measured, ranked, judged, and compared.

We’re told that if we just optimize one more thing, maybe then we’ll finally feel successful.

But it never works.

In this video, I’m sharing what it feels like to finally admit that I’m not perfect—and why that may be the only thing keeping me sane.

If you’re exhausted from pretending you’re okay…

If you feel like you’re doing everything “right” and still feeling empty…

This one’s for you.

This isn’t about giving up.

It’s about letting go of the illusion that success means you have to be flawless.

Let’s talk about what really matters.